School formats in the collection

We present here our offerings for schoolchildren that relate to the permanent collection. These formats offer skills- and activity-oriented approaches to art for all grades and educational levels. Through discussion and learning based on exemplary artworks, children are encouraged to think about and interact with art. Teachers will discover links to school curricula and will be able to incorporate new ideas into their lessons.

All our offerings are dialogue-based and interactive. For formats 120 minutes or longer, a studio component is possible.

On request, we can also adapt formats to different educational levels.

JUST FOLLOW YOUR NOSE – OBSERVE AND FEEL 
1st – 4th grade

Interactive picture viewing linked to sensory perceptions

60 min | 90 min collection or 120 min collection + studio

Listen carefully! You can actually hear art. And not only that! We will follow our noses on a discovery tour of the museum, listening, sniffing, tasting and feeling our way through the art: from the sound of abstraction to the feeling of colours, from the sweetness of “licking up syrup” to the coldness of the “sea of ice”.

This format gives children a first encounter with the museum using all their senses. Viewing art in this way raises awareness for its many sensory aspects and develops perceptual and expressive skills. 

Especially suitable for children’s first visit to the museum.

Also ideal for children learning German as a second language.

Art and general knowledge

 

IDEA FINDERS – DISCOVER AND INVENT  
1st – 6th grade

Interactive discussion or workshop with random techniques

90 min collection or 120 min collection + studio

Art is inventive. Some artists even develop their own techniques to express new ideas. With the help of chance, they try to play tricks on our senses so that our imagination can take over. Does art need imagination? What is imagination anyway? And where does it come from? In the museum, the idea finders set off in search of other people’s discoveries as well as their own.

In this format, children are encouraged to philosophise about the power of imagination. With the help of spontaneous methods that appeal to the emotions, they explore the world of artistic idea generation.

Also ideal for children learning German as a second language.

Especially suitable for children’s first visit to the museum.

IDEA FINDERS EXTRA – DISCOVER AND RESEARCH  
1st – 8th grade

PROJECT DAYS FOR RESEARCH-BASED LEARNING USING RANDOM TECHNIQUES

180 min | 240 min collection + studio (can also be booked over several days)

The young explorers set off into the museum to do some research. With a questioning and creative approach, they take a closer look at topics they are learning at school. Project days shift lessons to the world of art to breathe fresh air into the curriculum.

IDEA FINDERS IN PRINT – DISCOVER AND REPRODUCE 
3rd - 8th grade

PROJECT DAY WITH RANDOM AND PRINTING TECHNIQUES

180 min | 240 min collection + studio

The courage to take a chance! Graphic techniques are well suited for experimental learning. When the printing press becomes the object of research, ideas emerge as if on an assembly line. What else can we try printing?

MY WORDS! – SEE IT AND SAY IT  
1st – 13th grade

Interactive picture viewing with playful speaking prompts and creative writing methods

90 min | 120 min | 180 min collection

Pictures can be taken at their word. In front of the originals, pupils make their way from looking to speaking, from detailed descriptions to wide-ranging narrative threads. Artworks provide inspiration for creative speaking and writing. The relationship between word and image is a huge playing field for expressiveness.

The discussion in the museum examines narrative aspects of art and opens up paths for linguistic approaches. Depending on the subject area and prior knowledge, it teaches forms of image description, promotes language development and helps participants discover the joy of storytelling.

Especially suitable for those learning German as a second language and taking international preparatory classes

Art and German

STANDPOINTS – PERCEIVING AND EMBODYING 
3rd – 13th grade

Workshop featuring performative and artistic experiments

120 min | 180 min collection + studio

Space-consuming, space-creating, expansive, introverted, plunging, dancing, stiff and straight as a stick – each sculpture has its own way of dealing with the space around it. While one is entirely focused on its centre, another powerfully twists away from it. And what about us? We twist right along with it!

In this workshop, sculptures and objects are viewed, physically grasped and further developed creatively. Using performative methods, modelling clay or other materials, participants learn first-hand how figures develop in space.

Art and STEM

IS THAT SO? LOOKING AND QUESTIONING 
1st – 13th grade

Philosophical conversations on contemporary art

90 min | 120 min collection

Let’s dare to ask the really big questions! The museum shows the entire world in a small space. That sets our minds racing. Existential questions are not only the starting point for many works of art. They also offer a point of departure for a joint discussion on contemporary art.

In this format, recent artworks provide food for thought. Creatively philosophizing together, pupils look at art, think outside the box and consider what is important to them.

Participants can choose between three different questions:

Are they allowed to do that? (ethics)

What is beautiful? (aesthetics)

Is that true? (epistemology)

Art and Philosophy

STATEMENTS – EXPLORE AND SPEAK UP  
7th – 13th grade

Discussion and workshop using methods of visual communication

120 min | 240 min collection + studio (can also be booked over several days)

Who is actually able to speak their mind? Art is about communication. It raises questions and takes a stand, conveys ideologies or undermines them. Revolutionary processes take place in and with artworks that are not always discernible at first glance. Statement: The museum is political. It’s your turn to speak up.

School classes will discuss social and political aspects of art while examining past and present positions that express criticism of power relations. Together, they will propose possibilities for artistic involvement in museums, schools and public spaces.

Especially suitable for project days.

Art and Society

BIG STEPS – SEE AND COMPARE 
1st – 13th grade

Museum talk or workshop with theme-based image comparisons

90 min collection or 120 min | 180 min collection + studio

Seven centuries cover a broad field. It takes big steps to make comparisons across epochs – or to find a common theme! Comparing images reveals connections between motifs, artists and eras. Based on a certain theme and a small selection of images, we will look for key turning points, focusing on changes and contexts in art and history. 

Participants can choose between five different themes:

• TIME – beginnings and endings
• SPACE – surfaces and illusions
• FIGURE – humans and body images
• ME – identity and self-image
• WE – friendship and encounters

Especially suitable for the transcultural dialogue.

(All topics can be developed as a workshop on request).

GOING TO THE DOGS 
11th – 13th grade

Interdisciplinary museum talk

120 min in the collection

This offering is designed for the 2025/26 Abitur classes taking German as a subject.

Irmgard Keun’s novel “Das kunstseidene Mädchen” (The Artificial Silk Girl, 1931/32) and Erich Kästner’s novel “Der Gang vor die Hunde” (Going to the Dogs, 1930/31) will be related to selected works of art in an interdisciplinary fashion. Pupils will examine image content and excerpts from the novels in search for portrayals of self-awareness and self-dramatisation on the part of the characters Doris and Fabian.

In »Going to the Dogs« art and literature enter into an exciting historical dialogue that also has relevance for the present day.

We recommend splitting the group if there are 20 or more participants. For further information please contact: bildung-vermittlung@hamburger-kunsthalle.de

German as Abitur subject

Interdisciplinary offering: Art and German

ART IN INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR SCHOOLS 
9th – 13th grade

Museum talk and working groups using didactic material in the collection

180 min museum talk in the collection

Art from all eras touches on questions of humanity and religion. How we see a picture is shaped in part by the person who is looking at it. Feelings, needs and ideals are individual and diverse. Equipped with the necessary information, pupils will look at original artworks from the point of view of a world religion and then join in an interreligious dialogue about art.

This special format combines the subjects of religion, art and philosophy. Participants can choose between two different themes:

• God and concepts of God – transcendence and immanence
• Death and concepts of the afterlife – time and transience

The number of participants is limited to 18. Larger groups can be split up.